The present invention relates to a new and distinct cultivar of Lychnis plant, botanically known as Lychnis sieboldii ‘Lipstick’ and will be referred to hereafter by its cultivar name, ‘Lipstick’. The new cultivar represents a new herbaceous perennial grown for landscape use.
The new cultivar derived from a controlled breeding program by the Inventor in Hubbardston, Mass. The objectives of the breeding program are to create new cultivars of Lychnis that are long lived, perform well in the garden, have large flowers in unique colors, and a sturdy well-branched plant habit.
The Inventor made a cross in 2002 between an unnamed proprietary plant in the Inventor's breeding program, reference no. 99-2, as the female parent and reference no. 99-18 as the male parent. The Inventor selected ‘Lipstick’ in July of 2004 as a single unique plant amongst the seedlings that resulted from the above cross.
Asexual propagation of the new cultivar was first accomplished by division in Hubbardston, Mass. in 2004 by the Inventor. Asexual propagation by division has determined that the characteristics of the new cultivar are stable and are reproduced true to type in successive generations.